Musings about Tradition in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and an attempt to collect essays and articles which would appear in a Catholic press which exercised critical solidarity with the Hierarchy.

9 comments:

Isn't it great that gifted communicators such as Mr Longley are helping to explain the nature of the Church to non-Catholics? (ie that it's absolutely rubbish and we need another Council to stop nasty Vatican bureaucrats from interfering with my Spirit given right to do just about everything I fancy).

Depressing nonsense, but the last squeal of a dying generation, methinks.

BBC Religious programming is based in Manchester. When at Oxford Road, they have just moved to Media City, they had an orthodox Catholic further up the road, but would never consult them regarding The Faith. Instead they only went for the Diocesan line and if you had been inside the cathedral [Salford] you predict what that would be. Balance, you must be joking.

It is true that the original schemata drawn up by the Curia were discarded by the bishops quite early on.

However, it is not true that Vatican II was a "revolution" as Clifford Longley tries to make out. The documents on the whole are quite conservative in their tone.

I've been reading Bd John XXIII's opening address, and been amazed how much emphasis he puts on safeguarding the Truth of the Christian deposit of faith as the Council's main task - not something the Tabletistas ever care to mention really.

I can only suggest that we all read the Council documents for ourselves, not somebody else's spin on them. Why go only for the midrash when you have the original text in front of you?

My blood pressure wasn't up to listening to much. How the church has survived 2000 years without the BBC's wisdom and discernment must be forever beyond the ken of lesser mortals like me.Im sure George Orwell must have ben mistaken during WWII when he wrote " it isnt hard ...to look round Portland Place and spot the whores." Surely, envy, no more.

If I heard right last Sunday, (half-asleep) tomorrow's religion hour on R4 at 7.0am is to go big on Vatican 2. I'd bet on the presenter, stalwart Catholic Edward Stourton, lining up the usual suspects in praise of its "spirit", plus a highly-placed member of the E&W hierarchy mouthing the usual platitudes.